Many business owners are searching the internet to find information that deals with an advertising marketing plan. In reality, advertising and marketing are two different animals, although closely related. Marketing refers to the whole product service mix which includes those famous four “P”s: Price, Place, Product and Promotion. Advertising is just a part of the mix and of course, it fits within the Promotion aspect of marketing. Within the marketing scheme, you need to establish a price-point for your product or service.

You also need to set up a channel through which you will offer your product/service (this is the Place part of the mix). The product or service itself is a vital part of the mix. . .and then we get to Promotion which includes advertising. In today’s internet economy, you can actually do certain forms of advertising which are free. Some of these advertising options include online classified advertising like CraigsList or US FreeAds. Perhaps one of the most effective free “soft advertising” methods makes use of the many social media sites that are now available. The key word in this type of promotion is “social.” In order to be effective, you need to stick to the social etiquette that is required. No spamming or hypey activity is allowed.

Coming up with a solid advertising marketing plan will most likely take some trial and error. But there are some tips that can help you get going. The most important is to understand who you are advertising to–in other words, know your target market. And know it very well. A thorough understanding of this will make your plan much more successful. Getting it wrong will set you up for failure. This will require quite a bit of research which cannot be skimped on.

Next, set your goals. Identify what you want to get in return for your advertising (recognition, sales, brand identity, etc) and set specific short -, mid- and long-term objectives.

Then you will want to do some brainstorming to come up with the actual advertisements. Create a rough draft. This is just the start. It will most likely be revised over and over again as you figure out what is doing well and what isn’t. Which brings us to tracking, testing and tweaking.

You need to have tangible results with every ad that you place. This is harder to do with magazine, television, newspaper or radio advertising. But online advertising very much lends to tracking. Analyze your results and make necessary changes. Sometimes just one word can make all the difference in advertisement conversions.

Research advertising agencies to find who you will work with best. If possible, go for those who are specifically expert in advertising your business niche. Using the correct advertising marketing plan is a process. Taking action and getting help from professionals can help you get started.